Cloverdale, CA – Bear Republic Brewing Company brought home a medal for the second year in a row at the 2014 Good Food Awards, a celebration honoring those who exemplify excellence in both taste and responsible production. Previously a winner for TartareÔäó in 2013, Bear Republic is thrilled to be honored once again this year.
In an awards ceremony hosted at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, CA on January 16, Bear Republic’s Café Racer 15Ôäó was honored in the beer category, along with winners across the country in ten different categories including beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, confections, oils, pickles, preserves, and spirits. Winners were selected from 1,450 entries from all 50 states in a Blind Tasting held in September. Those that rose to the top were subject to a rigorous vetting process to verify that they met the sustainability and social responsibility criteria to win a Good Food Award.
Organized by Seedling Projects, culinary luminaries Alice Waters, Ruth Reichl, and Nell Newman honored the 2014 winners onstage, commencing with opening remarks from M.C. Dr. Zeke Emanuel, co-founder of the Farmers Market at the White House and advisor to President Obama on health care, who noted the integral link between health and the growth of sustainable food communities across the country.
As Sarah Weiner, Director of Seedling Projects, closed the ceremony, she summed up the potential impact for small producers as she congratulated the winners for their integrity and likened them to cultural revolutionaries. ” We are living in a time of great shifts and uncertainty. People are tiring of the accumulation of things, faster, more information, more productivity, and seeking a different way to live.” Weiner added, “But they need someone to show them the way. Food is the way, and you are the poet-revolutionaries to lead us there.”
Other winners local to Sonoma County included:
- Bellwether Farms, Whole Milk Ricotta & Carmody (Cheese)
- Flying Goat Coffee, Ethiopia Wote Konga (Coffee)
- Tallgrass Ranch, Tallgrass Ranch Estate Blend (Oils)
Winners from California included 32 total, including Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company of Marin County (Cheese) and Wine Forest of Napa County (Pickles).
For more information about the Good Food Awards and a full list of winners, visit: www.goodfoodawards.org/winners.